Shrapnel found in the bodies of people killed in an explosion at a Hamas rally last week came from the latter's own homemade rockets, according to a forensic report published Tuesday by the Palestinian Authority.
The report by the Interior Ministry's explosive unit confirmed the shrapnel resembled that used in the noses of Hamas' Qassam rockets. The blast at the rally in the crowded Jabalya refugee camp Friday killed 21 people, including a 7-year old boy who died of his wounds Tuesday.
Hamas said Israeli aircraft had fired missiles into the crowd, which Israel denied. On its part, the Palestinian Authority said the incident was caused when Hamas fighters mishandled explosives during the celebration of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza Strip.
In another development, Hamas claimed Tuesday responsibility of kidnapping and killing an Israeli "security agent" in Jerusalem, last week. In a statement, cited by RNA, Hamas said it kidnapped and killed a member of Israeli Internal Security (Shabak) named "Sasson Nuriel".
Hamas added that it kidnapped the "security agent" on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 to trade him for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. It added that as Israeli forces launched a wide campaign of arrests in the West bank the kidnappers were forced to kill him. On Monday, Israel said 55-year old Nuriel was a trader, who used to visit Palestinian villages in the Jerusalem area.
